Open AccessAlteration of Copper Fluxes in Brain Aging: A Longitudinal Study in Rodent Using 64CuCl2-PET/CT
Author(s) -
Fangyu Peng,
Fang Xie,
Otto Muzik
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
aging and disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.808
H-Index - 54
ISSN - 2152-5250
DOI - 10.14336/ad.2017.1025
Subject(s) - positron emission tomography , copper , nuclear medicine , brain aging , metabolism , positron , brain function , ageing , copper metabolism , medicine , chemistry , radiochemistry , biology , neuroscience , disease , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , electron
Brain aging is associated with changes of various metabolic pathways. Copper is required for brain development and function, but little is known about changes in copper metabolism during brain aging. The objective of this study was to investigate alteration of copper fluxes in the aging mouse brain with positron emission tomography/computed tomography using 64 CuCl 2 as a radiotracer ( 64 CuCl 2 -PET/CT). A longitudinal study was conducted in C57BL/6 mice (n = 5) to measure age-dependent brain and whole-body changes of 64 Cu radioactivity using PET/CT after oral administration of 64 CuCl 2 as a radiotracer. Cerebral 64 Cu uptake at 13 months of age (0.17 ± 0.05 %ID/g) was higher than the cerebral 64 Cu uptake at 5 months of age (0.11 ± 0.06 %ID/g, p < 0.001), followed by decrease to (0.14 ± 0.04 %ID/g, p = 0.02) at 26 months of age. In contrast, cerebral 18 F-FDG uptake was highest at 5 months of age (7.8 ± 1.2 %ID/g) and decreased to similar values at 12 (5.2 ± 1.1 %ID/g, p < 0.001) and 22 (5.6 ± 1.1 %ID/g, p < 0.001) months of age. The findings demonstrated alteration of copper fluxes associated with brain aging and the time course of brain changes in copper fluxes differed from changes in brain glucose metabolism across time, suggesting independent underlying physiological processes. Hence, age-dependent changes of cerebral copper fluxes might represent a novel metabolic biomarker for assessment of human brain aging process with PET/CT using 64 CuCl 2 as a radiotracer.